to think this is a bit much?

[baffledbureaucrat]

Long - I don't think IABU but you never know!

I used to live near a family with a DS about the same age as mine. We weren't especially close friends, I knew them from NCT and bumped into them every now and again afterwards. They moved to China when the boys were just two, we swapped emails and I offered to put them up if they ever wanted to come back to visit the UK.

They want to take me up on the offer, but now I've said yes, I find there's a lot more expected than I thought.

The dad will not be staying; however he will be stopping over in London on his way back from the USA. As he's been away for a few weeks, the mum wants to have a bit of 'alone time' with him in London, so will leave her DS with me for 'a sleepover' while she stays in London with her husband. She will be back to stay with me on day 2.

The mum also works with a multinational company and wants to visit their offices in Paris while she's in Europe. She wants to leave her DS with me while she does this for 'a week or so - maybe two'.

Apparently their DS speaks very little/no English as they speak Swedish at home. He also gets anxious at being left without his parents so I'm just to tell him they've gone to the shops if he gets tearful. They want him to have a total immersion experience to 'bring his English back' - he is 4.

Apparently they think this will benefit my DS because 'it will give him a playmate and take the pressure off you'.

AIBU to think they're taking the piss?

YANBU! Some people just beggar belief. I think you need to make it clear that her plans are not acceptable and she needs to make alternative arrangements which don't involve you!

So a 4yo - a child old enough to go to school and learn to read and write- is supposed to believe that mummy can pop to the shops for a forthnight? He is supposed not to notice that ever so often night falls and another day has passed and mummy still hasn't made it back from Tesco's?

Well, I was too much of a coward to call it off completely, so the woman and her DS stayed with us.

Her boundaries and mine seem to be completely at odds these days. Apparently her DS is very fussy about food (will only eat certain combinations of foods, but she wouldn't tell me which) but she felt he needs to learn to eat what's in front of him, so I should just insist he ate whatever I gave him. He didn't.

The mother disappeared into the study more or less as soon as she arrived to 'do some work' and didn't emerge for the rest of the weekend ' as the boys were getting on so well'.

At one point her DS hit mine (wanted a car that DS was playing with, appeared to ask him in Swedish, DS didn't understand, lad thumped DS). I told him gently-but-firmly that 'we don't hit in this house' and he stomped off in high dudgeon to find his mother. She emerged briefly to say to my DS that 'you're OK - there's no need to cry, is there?', and a vague 'I've told DS that there are different rules in this house' before retreating back to her computer. WTF?? Surely 'no hitting' is a given in every house?

Eventually I put on the TV for the boys which at least meant they didn't fight, and took them to the park for a bit to run around. Once we'd put them on the train for Southampton the next day (not entirely sure the poor Southampton friend knew even at this point what she was in for) I felt hugely relieved.

Needless to say they won't be staying again! I do feel for the poor lad as he's obviously not going to have a ball whatever happens. I've put people up here before and it's been fine - they've stayed with their children for a start and made some effort to interact with me; not decided that because I have one child that they can dump theirs on me and just use the free wi-fi for themselves!

Taking DS to see the dinosaurs at the Natural History museum at the weekend - which I think we'll both enjoy a lot more..

Blimey! You certainly dodged a bullet there by only letting them stay briefly.

I wish Southampton mum was a MNer :o

She sounds like a mean neglectful cowbag of a mother.